Episode 6 – Fake or Fact: eating, drinking and living in the post-truth world

Nutrition is a minefield of half-truths and flat out furphies. Let’s look at some of the biggest lies in the industry and figure out how to live and eat in the real world.

Quiz Answers
Question 1.
What are the names of the girls who unsuccessfully tried to find vitamin C in blackcurrant concentrate?
Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo
Question 2.
Who was the cartoon sailor who helped spinach be more popular with kids?
Popeye
Question 3.
In what century were Europeans scared of tomatoes?
18th Century (Late 1700s)
Question 4.
What country was the scientist from who was supposed to have miscalculated the iron levels of spinach?
Germany
Question 5.
True or false, goats liver is as good for your eyes as carrots
True
Question 6.
Who invented blackcurrant concentrate?
The British Government

Sources
‘Schoolgirls Rumble Ribena Vitamin Claims’ by Jeevan Vasegar, The Guardian, March 27, 2007.
‘Popeye’s Spinach Story Rich in Irony’ by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, ABC Science, December 6, 2011.
‘Why the Tomato Was Feared in Europe for Over 200 Years’ by K Annabel Smith, Smithsonian, June 18, 2013.
‘A WWII Propaganda Campaign that Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help You See in the Dark’ by K Annabel Smith, Smithsonian, August 13, 2013.
‘Four Theories About Why Vampires Hate Garlic’ by Skylar Abdeljalil, Horror, March 2018.
‘Fact or Fiction? Carrots Improve Your Vision’ by Dina Fine Maron, in Scientific American, June 23, 2014.
‘Six Ways to Stop a Vampire‘ by Ford Cochran, National Geographic, February 22, 2010.

Credits


This episode was narrated and produced by Alice Zaslavsky.
The Gorilla Gardening ad was voiced by Courtney Glass.
Writer: Sam West.
Editor: Sam Lowe.
Recording: Tender Trap Studios, Melbourne.
Curriculum Specialist: Beverley Laing.
Logo design: Love + Money.
Funding: Hort Innovation.

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